The tides are shifting.
Or rather, they’ve been shifting for some time now, but some of us are finally joining the party.
Many business owners have been feeling the pressure to keep up in this fast-paced world. And many of our clients and customers have asked us questions like…
We. Hear. You.
Times have changed. The market has changed. Buyer behavior has changed. And you have to keep up if you want to not only survive the shifting tides, but thrive as you navigate these rapid changes.
So how do you keep up with the trends? How do you adapt your marketing strategy to this new, ever changing environment? How do you cut through the noise so you can actually grow your business?
Why has buyer behavior changed so much over the past few years? Why are consumers more hesitant to make purchases? There’s a couple reasons for this.
The economic landscape has shifted drastically over the last few years. According to experts, “Gains in real disposable personal income growth are softening, pandemic savings are dwindling, and household debt is increasing” (The Conference Board).
This means it’s likely that consumer spending will slightly dip as we continue through the rest of this year.
But fear not! Consumers are still buying. They’re just buying differently. And they’re more picky about who they’re spending their money with.
It’s important to keep this in mind when you’re trying to grow your business in 2024. Patience is key. Stay the course, make necessary adjustments to your strategy, and keep trucking along.
While the pandemic was in full swing, people were pushed indoors or laid off. And because they couldn’t leave their homes, either for social interaction or work, they went where they could only go…
The Almighty Interweb.
Because some people experienced layoffs (or they simply realized how tired they were of working a job they didn’t love) many of them started passion projects, worked on side hustles, or created their own businesses.
Which means we saw an influx of online creators, social media strategists, micro-influencers, business coaches, life coaches… You name it.
And because many of these new business owners might’ve been inexperienced, they might’ve made promises they didn’t know how to keep. And customers were likely burned in the process, investing their time, money, and energy into people who didn’t know how to provide real solutions for their needs.
Thus creating a hostile environment of skeptical consumers.
Besides, an influx of new business owners means more competition. And more competition means it’s harder to get your foot in the door, cut through the noise, and stand out among competitors.
Customers are having a harder time finding the best fit for their needs because there’s so many options now. And that’s why it’s more important than ever to prioritize excellent marketing (to draw in customers) and provide a stellar experience (to retain those customers).
Because consumers have faced trials and tribulations during the pandemic, been burned by inexperienced business owners, or are simply too overwhelmed by the options that they don’t even know who to spend their money with… It’s more important than ever to build trust with them.
Have you heard of the Attract, Nurture, Convert cycle? To put it plainly, you attract customers through your marketing, nurture them through conversations and by continually putting out helpful content, and convert them into buyers once they’re warmed up and ready to make a purchase.
Nowadays buyers are spending much more time in the Nurture phase. Which means they’re taking longer to build like, know, and trust with brands.
In this current climate, you need to proactively build trust with your customers. Show them that you see, know, and understand them. Show them that you value their time and money. Show them that you truly care about providing solutions to their problems.
We wanted to share the trends we’ve noticed at The Awakening, all the while taking into consideration statistics and data from other credible sources, to give you the best chance of improving your marketing throughout the rest of 2024 and beyond.
Buyer behavior has changed. But consumers are still buying! So you need to adjust how you market towards them.
According to experts at Minderest, “Human-centric marketing is a trend aiming to connect with consumers as people, not just as buyers presented with products and prices.”
Consumers want to feel like they’re more than just another dollar sign in your revenue tracker. They want to feel deeply known, seen, and understood.
A human-centric marketing strategy should be based on human values like empathy, kindness, compassion, and justice (Making Science). To effectively implement this type of strategy into your marketing, it’s important to consider these human values – to consider the consumer’s concerns, prove that your brand listens to those concerns, and provide an experience that addresses those concerns.
Human-centric marketing allows you to build trust with your customers, elevate your customer experience, and increase customer loyalty (LinkedIn). And like I just said, trust is one of the most important elements in your marketing strategy right now.
Trust is what’s going to drive more relationships with your customers and more growth for your business. When you focus on your customers and their needs, you can build trust with them and provide them with such an excellent experience that they eventually become loyal customers and brand advocates.
And that’s what you ultimately want, right? You want happy customers. You want loyal brand advocates. And you can only attain that when you start viewing your customers as real people with unique emotions, desires, needs, and problems. Human-centric marketing urges you to view your customers on an individual level rather than lumping them into a singular client “persona.”
And when you start speaking to them on an individual level, they’re going to feel understood and valued which means they’re more likely to build a trusted relationship with you and your brand.
Not only is human-centric marketing good for customers, but it’s good for business.
One “trend” we’ve noticed over the past year is more authenticity and human-focused content. I use quotes around “trend” because it seems a bit contrived to call authenticity a trend. But it’s becoming increasingly important for consumers. They want to know the person (or people) behind the brand.
And consumers are also craving more transparency. Gone are the days of posting an Instagram graphic saying, “Look how much money I made! I’m trustworthy! Come buy my product!” That worked at one point, but it’s not working anymore.
Why did it work? Let’s say a business coach shared that she made 7 figures in one year. That’s a nice number – and customers like numbers. Sharing a number like that clearly shows the business coach’s credibility. And if she was able to make 7 figures in one year, then so could her customers, right?
Why does it not work anymore? Consumers are smart, and they see through content like this. They want to know more about that number – like how much of that 7 figures was actual profit? They also don’t necessarily care about how much money you’ve made. It’s not about that anymore. They care about more than just a fancy statistic – they want to see real results from buying your product or service.
So it’s time to be more authentic and transparent in your marketing. Your customers will thank you for it.
Hyper-personalization is where the magic happens.
According to Hubspot, “96% of marketers say [that a personalized experience] increases the likelihood of buyers becoming repeat customers, and 94% say personalization increases sales.”
When you create more personalized touchpoints for your customers, you’re providing a much more special experience for them, and they’ll likely want to keep buying from you instead of your competitors.
Not only is hyper-personalization important for consumers, but it’s important for your business to grow and succeed in this current market. It’s one of the best ways to boost retention with existing customers and increase sales with new customers.
But hyper-personalization goes beyond including a customer’s name in your email subject line. Here’s some examples of how to use hyper-personalization in your marketing:
If someone has previously viewed your products, send a personalized email saying something like, “We noticed you were checking out this item! Here’s more similar products you might like.”
When someone joins your membership, have them fill out a questionnaire about their unique goals. Send a personalized follow-up email to show them how they can best utilize the resources in your membership to reach those goals.
Collect and track data from your customers on an ongoing basis – even utilizing AI as a tool. Notice the shifts and trends happening in your industry. Anticipate what they might need help with, and be one of the first people to provide a solution.
Basically, answer a question they didn’t even know they had in the first place.
Remember: Don’t think in terms of your ideal client “persona.” Think in terms of the individuals in your community right now.
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3. Podcasts and Audio Content Is More Popular than Ever
As you may already know, podcasts have been on the rise for some time now – and they’re likely not going anywhere.
Podcasts are a great way to dive into deeper topics and expand on your brand’s mission and values. Because they’re more laidback than an educational infographic or a product promotion on Instagram, they’re a great way for consumers to feel connected to you.
They allow you to converse with your audience in an intimate way – through their very own ears as they drive to a coffee shop or take a roadtrip to a new city.
Audio content in general is performing well right now. (And this builds on the Hyper-Personalization trend we already talked about.) Many apps are introducing audio content to their repertoire, including short audios or voice memos to heighten the customer experience and make it more personal.
We have our own podcast, Legacy Creator, where our goal is to call you out and call you HIGHER. To inspire you to think bigger as an entrepreneur. We’re not only on audio platforms like Apple and Spotify, but we’ve turned the show into a video podcast as well, hosting it on YouTube. It’s a great way for us to connect with our customers and talk about the very real things we’re all experiencing as entrepreneurs. It’s a whole lot of fun and a whole lot of work. But it’s worth it to be able to talk about the things we feel an urgency to talk about with our audience.
We’ve also recently introduced Identity Embodiment audios in our signature membership, Vivid Creative. It’s a way for us to get in our members’ ears, inspire them, and empower them to embrace their identity with open arms.
These are just a couple examples of how we’ve utilized audio content in our marketing strategy. But at the end of the day, you have to decide what’s right for you and your brand.
Podcasts aren’t for everyone. But audio content is certainly worth considering.
Video as a whole is becoming more and more popular. People are flocking to video-centric apps like TikTok and Instagram, and “27% of marketers who don’t use YouTube plan to leverage it in 2024” for the very first time, according to Hubspot.
That statistic jumped out at me… But I’ll get to that in a minute.
Short-form video is on the rise, and most marketers are investing more time, energy, and money into creating short-form videos.
Building on the trends previously mentioned, it’s important to use a human-centric strategy (fusing authenticity with transparency) and hyper-personalization in your short-form video content.
Here’s some ideas to get you started:
Behind the Scenes Videos
Lifestyle Videos
Educational Videos
Inspirational Videos
Keep your customers in mind as you create your content. How is it serving them or inspiring them? How is it showing them what their life could look like if they worked with you or bought your product?
Use editing apps to your advantage! CapCut, Temply, and Canva are great template-based editing tools to help you elevate your short-form video content.
Will long-form content make a comeback? I believe so.
Now, this may be a personal hunch but as you just read… 27% of marketers who have never used YouTube before plan to start using it this year (Hubspot). Of course, YouTube has their own short-form video section on the platform, Shorts. But YouTube Shorts typically drive traffic to longer-form videos.
So it raises the question… If we’ve swung too far on the pendulum towards short-form content, won’t we inevitably swing back towards long-form content? I believe so. And here’s why…
We’ve already begun to see a wave of long-form content performing really well. Podcasts are bigger than ever, and more people are launching new podcasts every day. Some creators even host video versions of their episodes on YouTube (like we do).
Longer videos on YouTube (i.e., video podcast episodes, video essays, lengthy vlogs) have been performing really well lately. Why? Probably because consumers are getting worn out by the massive amount of short-form content at their fingertips. They’re craving more depth. Or maybe they simply want a video to put on while they’re eating lunch or getting ready for the day.
And even more than podcasts and long-form videos, blogs are still extremely popular and relevant! And most blog articles are pretty lengthy, right?
This is just some food for thought for you to chew on as you look towards the future.
Basically, if you’ve ever dreamed of starting a YouTube channel in the past, now might be the perfect time to start planting seeds on that platform.
Just saying…
At the end of the day, growing your business in 2024 is a matter of building trust with your customers.
Because of the influx of new business owners during the pandemic and the changes in the economy over the last few years, consumers are more picky about who they’re spending their money with – and they’ve become more skeptical.
And don’t be afraid to dip your toe into long-form content. I believe it’s on the rise! And your customers might even appreciate more in-depth touchpoints throughout your content.
Remember…
Buyer behavior has changed. But people are still buying! So you simply need to adapt and adjust your strategy to better meet buyer’s needs.
If you want to improve your marketing strategy and grow your business to new heights, apply to work with us at The Awakening. We’d love to support you and help your business flourish in 2024 and beyond!
Jordan graduated from Campbell University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration in 2021. She is the Creative Director at The Awakening, where she is responsible for all photography, video editing, graphic design, copy editing, and creative campaigns. She is a creative to the core and, in her spare time, loves to write poetry, spend time with loved ones, and listen to music from the 60's and 70's.
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